DARLINGTON striker Pawel Abbott is delighted to have scored his first goal on home turf following his &pound;100,000 summer move from Swansea City.

The 25-year-old hitman powered home the opener in the 2-0 win over Lincoln which keeps Quakers on top of League Two.

He has already notched three away from home, and proved that it was only a matter of time before he broke his duck at the Balfour Webnet Darlington Arena.

“It’s always a nice moment for a striker to score his first goal at home. I was thinking about it before the game, and decided this would be the day,” he revealed.

“Tommy Wright put in a good challenge on the keeper and the ball fell kindly for me.”

But Abbott almost didn’t play, for he missed training on Friday because of a back injury which had troubled him for much of the week.

“It stiffened up a bit after the game on Saturday, but it will be all right,” he said. “I’ve had back trouble before, though this is a new injury, but it won’t be a problem.”

And while Abbott has caught the eye with his four goals so far, he praised the whole team after their start to the season of four wins and two draws in six games.

“We are a well balanced side, and have conceded only once in those six games. With the defenders and midfielders we have got, it gives me and Tommy the chance to do our stuff.

“When you have confidence in the players behind you, strikers can try a few different things - but not to many because we don’t want to get on the wrong side of the boss.”

There’s little chance of that if Darlington continue to perform like this.

After Abbott’s 33rd minute strike, Ricky Ravenhill sealed the win with a 46th minute volley, though Lincoln came back into it and Louis Dodds hit the post with 20 minutes remaining.

Lincoln must hate playing Darlington, for the Imps have won only once in the last 16 meetings between the clubs.

The supporters are loving watching the new-look Quakers side, though only just over 4,000 turned up.

The standing ovation they gave the two substituted players, Abbott when manager Dave Penney decided to rest him after 73 minutes, and Micky Cummins three minutes from time, shows that the fans appreciate the different qualities in the side.

Ex-Boro man Cummins is making a huge contribution from the centre of midfield.

Much of it is subtle, as he uses his experience to intercept the ball when the opposition threaten, before getting Darlington moving with astute passes.

The way in which he lofted the ball over the defence for Julian Joachim to set up the second goal was typical of his vision.

Much of Darlington’s early season success has been built on the solid defence, particularly the central duo of Steve Foster and Alan White, but they appreciate the contribution that Cummins and Ravenhill make in front of them.

Manager Penney said: “We kept the ball very well, and Lincoln were having to chase the ball for much of the game.

“But I still feel we can get better as we are still learning to play as a unit.”

Lincoln boss John Schofield had no complaints. “Darlington were better than us,” he admitted.